Hey! Thanks for writing! I wish I lost 20 LB's in 2 weeks! :-) It was over the course of a couple months or maybe three. I actually didn't keep track, per se (time wise). I just kept up excellent eating with lots of veggies (main focus at every meal) and before I knew it 20 lbs were gone. It sounds like you are doing awesome and you should be proud of yourself! Rock on!

I am very happy that the weight is coming off consistently - VERY encouraging! Because sometimes this is really hard!

So, I discovered a few things:

1) freezing and then thawing out GSs for lunch isn't very good. Today I broke down and had 1/2 a tuna sandwich for lunch - the thawed-out smoothies just don't cut it - they're awful!

2) I can't skip the fruit in my GSs - smoothies don't taste good and are not fulfilling or sustaining without the fruit.

3) My breath stinks! I brush and use mouthwash and still can't get rid of the bad breath! My kids won't kiss me! Not sure why my breath is so bad and why I can't get any relief from it, I can't be in ketosis because I am eating too many carbs (in the form of fruits and veggies). According to FitDay my diet is 97% carbs. Nevertheless, I know ketosis causes bad breath...

4) I feel great today - lots of energy - because I exercised yesterday. I need to get in some form of exercise on a consistent basis because I feel great when I do! Luckily there is no school next week so I can get out there every day! Thanks for asking LMV, my energy levels are up and I am not sleepy any longer.

5) Thanksgiving is next week which means we're going to the river in seven days and I will NOT be down to 160. Heck I'd have to lose a full pound per day to make it down to 165 - but, I'm pretty sure I WILL be somewhere
in the 160s at least, which is WAY better than where I was 15 days ago! AND I will be down even more 15 days from today!

6) Bella and Edward have a child! (Twilight) I had no idea! I subbed in 4th grade today and that's what they were all talking about - guess I'd better get caught up on the Twilight series! Watched the first one again tonight - I forgot how good it was!

7) My skin and hair are really glowing! Even my hands look younger!

8) My clothes are fitting waaaay better and my shoes aren't tight anymore! I know the scale hasn't moved all that much but the inches are coming off quicker than the pounds!

9) People under 20 don't know who Fonzi is!

Okay just threw that last one in there to see if you were still paying attention.

Congrats on your progress. I also have been doing the green smoothies 3-4 days a week, mostly because I'm to lazy to cook. You might try to add some fat i.e. coconut oil, avacado, macadamia nuts. Also spirulina and chorella powder will REALLY help with the cleanse. They make the GS bright green and a little earthy/fresh, kind of grows on you.
look here for some ideasGreen Smoothie Recipes

So I woke up with a MONSTER headache Fri am but was soooo happy to see I had reached 170 on the scale! BUT, also for some reason my cycle started for the second time this month! I started normally on the 1st as expected and now again on the 16th! WEIRD! That's never happened before. (sorry guys for the girl talk). So why are my hormones messed up? From my cleanse?

Then my neighbor noticed I was looking thinner and my hubby (who knows better!) complimented me and told me how nice I looked in my outfit - he called me Sexy Mama! Well, that is all it took for my self-saboteur to rear its ugly head! I know from past experience that for some reason, as soon as my hubby starts noticing and commenting on my weight-loss I begin to sabotage myself. WHY DO I DO THAT???!!! Especially with my hormones raging!

I made it through the day fine but in the evening I decided to have a piece of sour-dough toast with I Can't Believe It's Not Butter - this was always my go-to snack of choice when I craved carbs. Not surprisingly it didn't taste as good as I thought it would and thankfully I stopped at only one piece and didn't have my normal four!

Well! The next morning my eyes were all swollen and watery again and I looked and felt awful! My allergies were crazy out of control. Don't know if it was the bread (wheat?) or the butter but one of the two was definitely the culprit!

My husband wanted to take me out to dinner to celebrate a real estate transaction we closed that day and I was good - I ordered salmon - YUM! but also had veggies that were sauteed in something pretty salty, and yes, stupid me had a roll AND my hubby and I shared a piece of chocolate cake! See, I got into that whole, "well I already had this so I might as well have that," mode. My husband says that is what drug addicts and alcoholics do to justify their drug/alcohol binges! Guess I have a disease then! Anyway, the next day, Sunday, we took the kids to see the new Twilight (which was AWESOME!) and I had about a cup of popcorn with butter and salt and a couple bites of chocolate - none of which really tasted as good as I remembered.

So Monday morning I weighed 174 again, probably water-gain from the salt. I also noticed that my joints are stiff and sore again which I hadn't even noticed were better until now that they are stiff again!

So all day Monday I happily stuck to my GSs - especially now that I know most of my problems (allergies, ugly-looking eyes, stiff joints, weight-gain) were all from food sensitivities. Knowing that, I now feel stronger than ever in my resolve to not eat badly again - I hate feeling and looking bad and if not having salt and wheat and sugar ever again is what it takes to feel and look good - now I know how easy it is and how great it feels to eliminate all that crap from my diet.

Today I am back to 172 but my eyes still look puffy and my allergies are still raging. Also, I still have this unexpected mid-month cycle for the 4th day now which is obviously contributing to my symptoms and played a huge role in the weakness in my resolve (sorry again guys).

So I'm not going to beat myself up for messing up this weekend because I learned a very valuable lesson: food sensitivities make me miserable! I am happy to be back on my GSs and now know for certain that I am on the road to good health.

Wow, this was a looooong post - sorry if I am boring you guys! Over eleven hundred views on this thread, it's comforting to know you guys are out there! Thanks to Kkotelman for posting and for the recipies!

Well I will be signing off now for a few days because we're leaving for the river tomorrow morning and I will not have internet there. I will pack my NutriBullet and make my GS's while I'm gone but will allow myself to nibble on ThanksGiving goodies while on vacation if I feel like it. I am happy and confident that I will stay at this weight (172) or maybe go up a smidge and then I know how to get it off nice and fast when I get back.

So Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Enjoy your family, friends, everything and be thankful for your health and the many loving relationships you have in your life!

I pretty much ate whatever I wanted while we were camping and my husband conveniently forgot to pack my cooler full of veggies for my GSs so I was unable to have any at all during my trip.

I was actually afraid to get on the scale on Monday morning. Yesterday I weighed in at 174 which is about what I expected. I cheated and took a diuretic and was happy to see the scale at 172.4 this morning. I know it was only water weight lost from the diuretic but I know I ate a lot of salty foods and now I feel like I'm at my true weight and anything lost from here forward will be ugly fat and not more water.

I have to say that I really looked and felt great while camping. My hubby commented on how flat my tummy looked in my tight capris with a little t-shirt. It was hot there so I couldn't get away with hiding behind jackets and sweaters and I am happy to say I don't feel like I needed to. I still weigh A LOT but I guess I must have lost more inches than pounds because I feel like I look like I weigh a lot less. Anyway I won't be happy until the scale is WAY down, around 120-ish. So I have a LOOOOOONG way to go.

I feel a bit achy and shivery these past couple days and wonder if I picked up a flu bug. The last thing I want is a cold smoothie because I'm already so cold. I tried warming one up like Montel Williams blender does to make a hot soup and it was AWFUL! YUCK! Down the drain it went!

I'm having a bit of warm gluten-free oatmeal with a splash of almond milk and stevia right now as I write this because I'm just not ready for a cold smoothie yet. This will be my last solid meal for a while so I am really enjoying it. I will still snack on an apple here and there but really want to get my weight down as quickly as possible so will go back to having just smoothies until I see a significant weight loss! My first Christmas party is December 15, which is 2.5 weeks away. Hopefully I will be close to 160 by then.

Okay, that's it for now. Thanks for your support and have a great day!

How do you like the NutriBullet as far as frozen foods go? I am looking for a new blender to make banana ice cream in (frozen bananas + any other frozen fruit of your choice, blended), but the Vitamix is out of my price range, and I know average blenders like the Black and Decker blenders arent strong enough to handle a bunch of frozen things. Any advice?

Meachan: definately get the NutriBullet - it obliterates frozen food and anything else you throw in there. My only complaint about this little baby it just that, it's little. The largest cup holds 24 ozs. and you can't fill it up all the way. when you throw a couple of cups of kale/spinach and then water and a few berries - it's already full. I wish they made a 32 oz cup for this because my smoothies are always too big.

So now onto my progress, sadly my weight is stalling and I'm really frustrated. I am stuck at 172. I have gotten into the habit of adding stevia to my smoothies and I am thinking that it is the culprit. My cravings have increased and I am getting night-time leg cramps/restless legs. Since I began adding stevia I am craving so much I am having one small meal each day usually of oatmeal - with more stevia! It has to be the stevia so today the stevia stops!

I want to to drop another 10 lbs. by 12/15 so here is my solution:

Also, anyone who wants to try this and wants to know more, my aunt discovered a Dr. Oz 3-day smoothie cleanse/fast. He provides recipes, a shopping list, everything you need. The smoothies are pretty much what I am doing but I am not adding the almond butter and I will follow the fast for the entire 15 days (I started yesterday). I am also NOT having the stevia which he allows in the morning green tea.

Here is the link: (there are videos and everything if you want to watch)